Washboard.



PATENTED' NOV. 26, 1907.

L A ff; .V/LA IHE'Y.

E. M. SAUNDERS. WASHBOARD. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 20, aos.

THE NORRIS PETERS cc., wasm.

WqE'ESEE.

EDWARD M. SAUNDERS,

WALTER G. PAYSON,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS.

WASHBOARD Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Nov. 26, 1907.

Application filed September 1 1 0 fi fl 3 5353- T 0 all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD M. SAUNDERS, citizen of the United States,and resident of Maiden, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in WVa-shboards, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to wash boards such as are used for generallaundry purposes, and its object is to provide a wash board of practicaland economical construction in which the rubbing surface is supported toyield under the pressure brought to bear upon it in the rubbing of theclothes in such manner and direction as to effectively relieve thestrain and jar uponthe arms of the user, reduce the energy consumed, andto also re duce the wear upon the clothes incident to such rubbing,while increasing the efficiency of the rubbing action.

The rubbing surfaces of wash-boards are usually if not always providedwith some form of transverse ribs or corrugations and the jar andvibration transmitted to the hands and arms of the user is produced byrubbing of the clothes over these ribs or corrugations. In practicing myinvention I relieve and minimize this jar and vibration by so mountingthe rubbing board in the frame of the wash-board that it may yield inthe direction of the movement of the clothes over the rubbing surface ofthe board. With the rubbing board thus mounted the shock and jarincident to the movement of the clothes under pressure longitudinally ofthe rubbing surface of the rubbing board is cushioned and taken up bybodily movement of the board in the direction of the movement of theclothes, the yielding supporting means tending to return the boardagainst the movement of the clothes and thus increase the rubbingaction.

The pressure applied to the clothes by the hands and arms of theoperator is at an inclination to the rubbing surface and in order tomost effectively relieve the ar and vibration imparted to the operatorand also to secure the most efficient rubbing action, I prefer to sosupport the rubbing board in the frame that it may yieldrearwar'dly aswell as in the direction of movement of the clothes over the rubbingsurface. The bodily movement of the rubbing board in such case will beboth rearwardly and longitudinally of the board, the resultant directionof movement depending upon the angle at which the pressure is applied tothe clothes. In other words the rubbing board may yield bodily toeffectively cushion the vibrations caused by the clothes passing overthe successive ribs or corrugations of the rubbing surface, the yieldingmovement accommodating itself to the direction in which the pressure isapplied to the clothes as they are moved over the rubbing surface.

In embodying the broader features of my invention in a simple andinexpensive construction I have employed certain further features ofinvention which are of importance in contributing to the simplicity andefficiency of the construction.

In supporting the rubbing board to yield in the manner above specified Iprefer to yieldingly suspend the rubbing board within a supportingframe. The specific form of the devices for thus suspending the rubbingboard is not essential but I prefer to employ flexible connectionsbetween the rubbing board and the frame and to so form or mount theconnections at one or both ends of the rubbing board that they may yieldin a direction longitudinal of the rubbing board. These yieldingflexible connections may be extensible tension devices and I prefer toutilize tension springs for this purpose.

The manner of supporting the rubbing board above referred to is welladapted for supporting rubbing boards of glass or other vitreous orfriable material or having rubbing surfaces of such materials, andvarious features of the invention may be embodied in wash-boards havingrubbing boards or rubbing surfaces made from any suitable or desiredmaterial.

By yieldingly suspending the rubbing board within a frame a constructionis provided which can be readily embodied in a washboard having either asingle or a double faced rubbing board. The various features of theinvention will be set forth in the claims and will be readily understoodfrom the following detailed description of the wash-board shown in theaccompanying drawings.

In these drawingsFigure 1 is a front elevation of a wash-board embodyingthe various features of my invention in the forms in which I prefer touse them; and Fig. 2 is a sectional side view on line 22 Fig. 1.

The wash-board shown in the accompanying drawings comprises a supportingframe and a rubbing board supported in the frame to yield in thedirection of movement of the clothes over the rubbing board and to alsoyield rearwardly under pressure applied to the face of the rubbingboard.

The frame consists of the side pieces 1, the transverse bottom piece 2and the transverse top piece 3, which are secured together in anysuitable manner. A board 4 may be secured to the side pieces 1 justbelow the top piece 3 and may be provided with a forwardly extending rib5 for retaining the soap while the wash-board is in use.

The rubbing board may be of any suitable construction and may be madefrom any suitable materials. In the construction shown the rubbing boardconsists of the corrugated metal plate 6 which is secured to twolongitudinally extending straps 7. The corrugated plate may be securedto the longitudinal straps in any suitable manner as by means of staplessuch as indicated at 8.

The devices shown for yieldingly supporting .the rubbing board withinthe frame comprise links 9 and coiled springs 10. The links 9 areconnected by means of staples 11 and 12 with the bottom cross piece 2 ofthe frame and with the lower end of the rubbing board. These links thusprovide one form offlexible connection between the lower end of therubbing board and the frame. The coiled springs 10 are connected at oneend with the upper end of the rubbing board bymeans of staples 13 andare connected at the other end with bolts 14 which pass through theupper cross piece 3 of the frame and are provided on their outer endwith nuts 15. The springs 10 thus constitute one form of yieldingflexible connection between the upper end of the rubbing board and theframe. These springs also provide a simple and inexpensive form ofextensible tension device for connecting the upper end of the rubbingboard with the frame. The tension of these springs may be regulated oradjusted by means of the screws 15 so that they may offer the proper anddesired resistance to the rearward and longitudinal movement of therubbing board.

By means of the links 9 and the springs 10 the rubbing board is heldsuspended within the frame in such manner that it may yield bodily underpressure brought to bear upon it in the rubbing of the clothes. Whenpressure is applied to the surface of the rubbing seasos board theflexible connection formed by the links 9 allows the lower end of theboard to move rearwardly and downwardly and the flexible connectionformed by the springs 10 yields to allow the rearward and downwardmovement of the rubbing board, the extent and direction of the movementof the board depending upon the pressure applied to the rubbing surfaceof the board and the direction in which the pressure is applied. As theclothes are forced downward over the surface of the rubbing board thesprings 10 will yield to cushion the successive blows imparted to thecorrugations of the rubbing surface as the clothes pass downward overthe surface. The springs will also tend to return the rubbing board toits normal position and will therefore increase the rubbing action asthe clothes are forced over the surface of the board.

While I prefer to embody the various features of my invention in theconstruction and arrangement shown in the drawings, it will beunderstood that this construction and arrangement is not essential tovarious features of my invention as set forth in the claims. It willalso be understood that it is not essential that a wash-board shallemder to secure advantageous results and that in embodying the variousfeatures of the invention in concrete constructions, variousmodifications and changes may be made.

Without attempting to set forth in detail the various forms andarrangements in which my invention may be embodied, what I claim anddesire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. A wash board comprising a frame, a rigid rubbing board, linksconnecting one end of the board with the frame and tension linksyieldingly connecting the other end of the board with the frame.

2. A wash'board comprising a frame, a rigid rubbing board, flexibleconnections between the lower end of the board and the lframe, andextensible yielding connections between the upper end of the board andthe frame.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 17th day ofSeptember 1906. EDWARD M. SAUNDERS. In the presence of IRA. L. Frsn,KATHARINE A. DUGAN.

body all the features of my invention in or-

